Danvers Police School Patrols Added Amid TikTok Threat

DANVERS, MA — Danvers students were met with an increased police presence on Friday as a precaution after the district was made aware of a nationwide TikTok challenge threatening school violence.

The district said in a letter to the school community that the message did not originate from Danvers, but provides a lesson in the dangers of sharing social media posts involving violence.

"This situation serves as a good example of why it is important to avoid sharing posts that refer to school safety threats," school officials said in the letter. "Even if they are not credible threats, they can cause a great deal of stress and anxiety for our students, families and staff.

"We ask our families to monitor their children's social media activity and speak with them about proper behavior online."

Police cars were present at the arrival of elementary school students on Friday, with school resource officers at Danvers High and the Holten Richmond School "as an added precaution."

The challenge called for violence at schools across the U.S. on Dec. 17 with several Massachusetts school districts saying that they were taking extra precautions.

Districts across the country are guarding against the reported challenge, which Wilmington Superintendent Glenn Brand refers to "every school in the USA, even elementary."

At least two Massachusetts schools districts responded earlier this week to social media threats this week.

In Burlington, someone posted a threat against Burlington High School to an anonymous Instagram account. In the message, which school administrators were made aware of on Tuesday, someone posted "a desire to cause harm at the school prior to winter break," officials said.

And in Wrentham, a Snapchat post said the King Philip Middle School will be shot up on Friday. Wrentham police investigated Tuesday's incident and say it was a case of bad judgment on the student's part and not a real threat.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)